How intermittent fasting affects muscle mass

1. Full-day fasting

2. Fasted every other day

3. Food at a certain time

4. Does it even affect how intermittent fasting affects muscle mass?

1. Full-day fasting

i.e. complete abstinence from eating for 12 days and taking any amount of food on the remaining days; the second option is to limit your meals on the days of fasting.

2. Fasted every other day

(alternate-day fasting; ADF), which consists of maintaining calorie restrictions (about 25% of energy consumption) or completely abstaining from eating meals every other day; on other days meals should be consumed as desired;.

3. Food at a certain time

(Time-restricted eating; TRE), i.e. during the nutritional window during which food is allowed to be consumed; is usually 48 hours per day, however this period is an individual matter and should be tailored to your lifestyle and preferences; it is suggested to limit this time to 13 meals.

4. Does it even affect how intermittent fasting affects muscle mass?

Fasting for only two days can lead to anabolic resistance, which is a decrease in the protein content of the muscles in each meal to synthesize muscle protein in response to the amino acids consumed with the meal. Eating meals in the food window causes the protein to be used for purposes other than muscle building. A study conducted in 2021 in which two comparable food models were compared. The protein content at each meal was reduced to about 0.3 g/kg. Williamson, D.R. Given the current state of knowledge, it is unlikely that this, along with the amino acid content at the time of the meal, could lead to significant benefits in the body's adaptation to the body, because it is not dependent on the body in the first day of the process.